Insinuation Stoke City could be pushed into bargain deal at the end of the January window

Giannelli Imbula’s loan move to Toulouse hasn’t gone well at all.

Actually, it’s pretty much been a disaster and if all parties could erase it from memory they probably would.

Every week or so there’s a French report about how much of a flop the Stoke City loan player has been, and Imbula’s status has dropped so much it must be a concern for his parent club.

Fear not! Calciomercato have a claim that Torino are again interested in the midfielder. With Samuel Gustafson set for a loan to Brescia, Torino executives are said to have already picked Imbula as an alternative.

Torino’s interest has been around a while, according to the Italian claims, but due to the ‘high economic demands’ of Stoke City, negotiations have never got off the ground.

The Italian hope is that Toulouse will be allowed to pack Imbula back off to Stoke and the Premier league club be encouraged into a sale late in the January window.

It’s a long shot, and if it happens it doesn’t sound like it’ll be a beneficial one, financially, for Stoke City.